Build season

This my really my favorite time of the year. The leaves are all down and there's less trail traffic because of the colder temps here in nj. This is also when we like to do our building (before the ground freezes). Just started a few minor projects and am excited about 2 extensions we'll be adding to existing trails. Just getting pumped to cut some trail.

I agree, I always get the trail building urge when that autumn nip hits the air. Got a new 14 mile trail to tread in, working name is Big View, hope to have it rideable by summer. Too much snow cover right now tho, so it's xc ski and snowshoe til spring melt.

yup, this is the good time to be out throwing dirt for us. The ground is saturated with moisture and it sticks and packs like a boss. We extended some berms and added some kickers to the local trails yesterday!

Here in the "sunny south", deer season ends January 1, I hope to get back to working on my trail. I lease to deer hunters so in hunting season, I leave the woods to them. So many deer/car collisions, it doesn't hurt to thin them out, plus it leaves more food for the other deer.
ANYWAY, I hope to get my trail raked, marked and ready to ride. Cold doesn't bother me that much, of course my "cold" doesn't compare to the "cold" some of you have to put up with. But after watching Coast Guard Alaska and watching my fellow Coasties surf and spearfish in Alaska, what's a little cold on a bike?

The ground is good and frozen here in Eastern Ontario & I haven't been able to build for over a year due to medical reasons. (I had to look out the window to see where I was when I woke up this morning.) In a couple of weeks I'll be back out on Vancouver Island where you can't tell the seasons apart & I'm pretty sure I'm in good enough shape to start building again. The trails I built for the middle school bike club are being logged at this moment so there should be lots of clean-up to do. I should be able to build some new features as well. The kids will get a whole new set of trails and I'll have lots to do.

I think I'm going to have a pretty good year.

I have a device that can access the total knowledge of man. I use it to look at pictures of cats and argue with strangers.

Down here we may be able to ride year 'round, but building in the summer heat is about a 4 hour deal as it is too hot in July/August/Sept timeframe, and not much gets done except the bare minimum repair. We are now cooling off and will get, and have already, major projects done. We just finished a 150 ton fill job on a re-route of a major trail. This Jan we will tweak the project with one more 'dozer rental and staging of fill in various spots.

Our main problem is the tropical rain that erode the trails in a big way and we have to buy double crushed lime rock to repair the damage. Fortunately this stuff lasts a very long time. We are now also using pavers in the big wear area's as well to keep from having to come back. Fortunately the races we organize pay for all this material and tools we use.

This season looks like we will have more volunteers too, as people are now seeing what has been achieved by just 2-3 people over the past 3 months.. Maybe we shamed a few riders into paying back with some effort, in what is a free trail system.

Too much snow in NE Ohio to actually build right now. But we were out flagging the first rough line of the first trail of the new mtb trail system at Lake Milton State Park. We'll be back out next weekend and likely have most of phase 1 roughed in.

May start cutting corridor soon. Can't do a lot more with 10" on the ground.

The wife got me a rogue hoe for Christmas too. Lots of rain recently where I am and my 7" hoe was cutting the DG like butter. Perfect trail building conditions in SoCal.

haha! I got a rogue hoe too from my gal for Christmas. My buds come up to help build and the Rogue hoe always gets snagged up She bought me another so I always have one to use.

Build season in full force right now, I agree. Ground is a little hard, but unstable("frozen" dirt breaks apart easily), so with the Rogue hoe and a pick maddox it's pretty easy to break up and form. The 5-6" of snow is adding some good moisture to drought ridden Colorado Front Range dirt. I like the way the snow mixes in with the dirt. A lot of tree work with my 290 too. Probably in my head, but I feel like Stihl runs better when it's cooler out. Gettin' beetle kill on the ground and limbed. Most logs get used for berms, trannies, or lips and the rest is bucked up for burnin'. Speakin' of all this, I'm out to cut and dig

haha! I got a rogue hoe too from my gal for Christmas. My buds come up to help build and the Rogue hoe always gets snagged up She bought me another so I always have one to use.

Build season in full force right now, I agree. Ground is a little hard, but unstable("frozen" dirt breaks apart easily), so with the Rogue hoe and a pick maddox it's pretty easy to break up and form. The 5-6" of snow is adding some good moisture to drought ridden Colorado Front Range dirt. I like the way the snow mixes in with the dirt. A lot of tree work with my 290 too. Probably in my head, but I feel like Stihl runs better when it's cooler out. Gettin' beetle kill on the ground and limbed. Most logs get used for berms, trannies, or lips and the rest is bucked up for burnin'. Speakin' of all this, I'm out to cut and dig

Happy buildin' in the New Year folks!

Happy trail building to you!!

Sounds you're getting some work done and you're right on the Stihl running better in the cooler weather. My saws did a lot of work in Northern Illinois before moving down here and they aren't too happy in the heat...

Summer here. Normally this would be a wet time of year, but so far it remains pretty dry. Shame, as water makes building far easier apart from the nappy (diaper) rash and I'd also like to avoid trail digger's lung. We can cope with the heat, but Dust = Bad. Oh well, it just makes you put more effort into line and grade selection, plus the amount of stone you add to the tread.

Heres's some pics from this week including new trail work, test riding, a Witjuti Grub being released into the wild, saved dirt, a small ant checking out our work and the reason for it all.

The majority of that trail is complete and we are just trying to discourage use until we close a section of the trail it replaces, add a new connecting section of trail between the two and then complete the last bit on either end of the new trail. Both ends have logs and other debris added for now. Looks crappy and prevents us riding it as well, but the trail is already too popular and too obvious.